Dermatology Facts

Hair and saliva allergy tests have been proven to be not reliable and are not recommended.

• Bernstein JA et al. Hair and saliva analysis fails to accurately identify atopic dogs or differentiate real and fake samples. Vet Derm J 2019.
• Coyner K and Shick A. Hair and saliva test fails to identify allergies in dogs. J Sm Anim Pract. 2018.
• Assessment of the clinical accuracy of serum and saliva assays for identification of adverse food reactions in dogs without clinical signs of disease. JAVMA. 2019.

When “natural” is used on a food label, the food should not contain any chemically synthesized ingredients.

“Holistic,” “human grade,” “premium” and “gourmet” are marketing terms and have no legal definition.
Many pet food companies have great marketing and not such great nutrition. Don’t get sucked into the marketing. This is how the whole “grain-free” craze started. Most dogs are fine with grains.

Corn is not an evil ingredient in pet food. There are rumors that corn is a cheap filler used in pet foods and is a major source of food allergies. Corn is actually a good source of complex carbohydrates and as well as a good source of linoleic acid (an essential fatty acid), essential amino acids and fiber. Although food allergies to corn exist, food allergies to beef, dairy, chicken, egg, wheat, fish, and soy are more common.

Allergies to environmental allergens are more common than allergies to food allergens.